Legislation and Public Police Powers (1753)
Louis–Adrien Le Paige was the leading theoretician of Parlementary claims against the crown in the 1750s. His <i>Historical Letters on the Essential Functions of the Parlement</i> (1753) traced the history of the <i>parlements</i> from what he claimed to be their medieval origins—assemblies held by Frankish warriors to elect kings. Criticizing what he perceived to be the inadequate attention being paid by Louis XV to his <i>parlements</i>, Le Paige makes the historical case that far from being creations of the crown to which they remained subordinate, the <i>parlements</i> had actually created the monarchy—and thus should have the final say on all royal decrees. In this passage, Le Paige argues that because of this history, the <i>parlements</i> were not being "disobedient" to the King in asserting their sovereignty.
Louis-Adrien Le Paige, <i>Lettres historiques sur les fonctions essentielles du Parlement</i> (Amsterdam, 1753), 82–83, 87–93, 96–97.
1753
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Remonstrance of Court of Aides (1775)
The Court of Aides was a special chamber of the <i>Parlement</i> of Paris dealing with taxation. It, too, could issue "remonstrances" to protest against royal edicts that it opposed. In this remonstrance, the Court of Aides protests against reforms proposed by ministers to the newly crowned king, Louis XVI. The court argues generally for the right of the "nation"—as represented by the <i>Parlements, </i>naturally—to consent to all taxation. The court calls for greater "publicity" of the debate over taxation, so that a broader group of people could express themselves, as well as the <i>Parlements.</i> Although the crown tried to prevent this remonstrance from being published, it was widely circulated and undermined the new King’s efforts to establish good working relations between his ministers and the Parlementary courts. It also inspired such ministers as Turgot and then Necker to push for reforms of the monarchy from within.
<i>Mémoires pour servira l'histoire du droit public en France</i> (Brussels, 1775).
1775
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<i>Parlement</i> of Brittany
Particularly vocal in its resistance to the financial edicts of 1763 was the <i>Parlement</i> of Rennes, which had jurisdiction in the province of Brittany. A series of "remonstrances," issued by this court between 1763 and 1765, reveal the conflict between the parlementarians and the crown. At first, the magistrates merely protested the proposed new taxes, but when several of them were arrested for defying the King’s orders, the rest argued that they had a collective obligation to protest royal decrees that, in their view, violated the traditional "liberties" of the region. The Breton magistrates later voiced opposition to the crown’s efforts to remove them and in their place seat a new, more docile court. Particularly infuriating to the magistrates were the machinations of the regional governor, the Duke d’Aguillon, who came from a long–standing, aristocratic Breton family, who therefore saw as rivals the "robe" nobles of the <i>parlement</i>. D’Aguillon tried to discredit Louis René Caradeuc de La Chalotais, the public prosecutor loyal to the <i>parlement</i>, by accusing him of sending threatening letters to the King. Here we see an effort by the Breton <i>Parlement</i> to stand up for its rights.
A. Le Moy,<i> Remonstrances du Parlement de Bretagne du dix-huitième siècle</i> (Paris: Champion, 1909) 86Ð<i>95.</i>
August 11, 1764
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Turgot, "Letter to the King on Finance" (1774)
In 1774, the newly ascendant Louis XVI appointed as his minister of finance a pro–Enlightenment economist and administrator named Anne–Robert–Jacques Turgot, a baron from a noble family with many generations of service to the kings of France. In office, Turgot sought to implement many reforms of the royal treasury. In this passage, he informs the King of the debts he has discovered in the royal treasury and proposes reforming fiscal policy by cutting expenditures and more equitable taxation—without considering whether or not this will be acceptable to the <i>Parlements</i>.
Jean-Louis Soulavie,<i> Historical and Political Memoirs of the Reign of Lewis XVI from His Marriage to His Death, Translated from the French...in Six Volumes...,</i> vol. 3 (London: G. and J. Robinson, 1802), 423-438.
August 24, 1774
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Voltaire, "Internal Government" (1756)
François–Marie Arouet, who wrote under the name Voltaire, was both the best–known and most tireless advocate of the Enlightenment and also a close associate of several European kings and many French aristocrats. In his widely read history, <i>The Age of Louis XIV</i>, he exalted the achievements of the Bourbon monarchy, which had brought such glory and honor to France. In this passage, Voltaire lauds the reforms Louis XIV made in the royal government, implying that such reforms might again be useful in advancing France’s greatness.
Voltaire, <i>The Age of Louis XIV,</i> translated by W. F. Flemming, 2 vols. (London: E. R. Dumont, [1756] 1901), 2:320–33.
1756
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Moreau, "Principles of Monarchy" (1773)
Jacob–Nicolas Moreau wrote his "lessons of morality, politics and law" for the instruction of the Dauphin. Throughout the 200–page book, Moreau defends the power of the King to rule France without opposition. In this passage, he emphasized that the current King must be actively involved in governing and could no longer inspire respect from his subjects merely by occupying the throne, as had monarchs in earlier times. Furthermore, Moreau wrote, only an active King could defend order and thus preserve the liberty of his people.
Jacob-Nicolas Moreau, <i>Leçons de Morale, de politique et de droit public </i>(Versailles: De l'imprimerie du Département des affaires étrangères, 1773), 15–16, 21–26, 49, 76–80, 139–48.
1773
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Turgot, "Memorandum on Local Government" (1775)
In 1774, on the accession of Louis XVI, Anne–Robert–Jacques Turgot was named Controller–General of Finances. In this position, he also became responsible for administrative policies relating to taxation, the economy, and local government. With his recent experience as an intendant in mind, Turgot directed his secretary (the economist, Pierre–Samuel Dupont de Nemours) to draft a long memorandum diagnosing the problems of provincial administration and outlining the plans for national regeneration that the controller general intended to submit to the King. Although this <i>Mémoire sur les Municipalitiés</i> was written in 1775, Turgot fell from power before it could be presented to Louis XVI . However, its arguments exercised a powerful influence on administrative thinking in the remaining years of the old regime.
Gustave Schelle, ed., <i>Oeuvres de Turgot</i>, 4 vols. (Paris: F. Alcan, 1913Ð23), 4:568Ð628.
1775
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Necker, "Account to the King" (1781)
Unlike the British, where the crown’s finance minister gave an annual report to Parliament, the French royal treasury’s accounts were a closely guarded secret. Yet Louis XVI’s second finance minister, Jacques Necker, a Swiss banker, who claimed to be more attuned to the benefits of public confidence than to palace intrigue at court, thought the crown would be better able to raise funds if it were to issue a public report of its budget, and to this end he wrote and had published 100,000 copies of his <i>Account to the King </i>in 1781. He hoped this report would win support for reforms among the Parlementary magistrates and other regional elites; however, the result was the opposite—Necker was dismissed again, preventing once again any public discussion of the disastrous state of the royal finances. This excerpt comes from the introduction to Necker’s report.
Jacques Necker, <i>Compte rendu au Roi</i> (Geneva: Duvillard, 1781), 1–3.
1781
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Vergennes, "Memorandum against Necker" (1781)
In 1781, after the failure of two successive finance ministers, Turgot and then Necker, to reform the royal bureaucracy, and after the death of his politically astute first minister Maurepas, Louis XVI turned to a more conservative politician, Count Charles Gravier de Vergennes, to shore up his support at court and with the <i>Parlements</i>. Vergennes was, for several years, quite successful, partly by blaming the monarchy’s woes on the now–departed reformers. In this pamphlet, Vergennes attacks Necker and denies the need for any reforms or limits on royal power.
Vergennes, "Mémoire contre Necker" (1781), in J.-L. Soulavie, ed., <i>Mémoires historiques et politiques du règne de Louis XVI,</i> vol. 4 (Paris: 1801), 56–59.
1781
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Calonne, "Programs of Reform," Address to Assembly of Notables (1787)
In 1783 Charles Alexandre de Calonne, a provincial noble, became royal finance minister. At first, he, like Vergennes, saw no need to rationalize the royal treasury or to appease the <i>Parlements</i>. By 1786, however, the deficit had become so huge—one–sixth of the total royal budget—that Calonne knew that reforms—meaning more taxes, or at least more loans—could no longer be put off. To obtain the support of regional nobles for such changes, the King called an Assembly of Notables. At the opening session, on 22 February 1787, Calonne addressed the assembly and proposed a uniform tax across the kingdom, to be administered by provincial assemblies of nobles and other elites. In other words, a royal minister was now suggesting that taxation privileges should be replaced by a fiscal policy that would apply to all equally.
Jules Flammermont, <i>Remonstrances du Parlement de Paris au XVIIIe siècle,</i> vol. 1 (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1888–98), 189–98.
February 22, 1787
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